The Beatles

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Transcript of The Beatles

The Early Years and MotivationThe Hamburg Years and The Cavern ClubFrom the years 1960-1963, the Beatles built up a good reputation with performances in clubs in Liverpool, and Hamburg, Germany. In Hamburg, Germany they rarely performed anything that was "original", rather they would play covers of American Rock n Roll in some very dark and questionable clubs. In 1960, Paul and Pete Best were arrested for arson and were deported back to Liverpool. George later on was sent back to Liverpool as well for being underage and working without a permit. John later followed. The band didn't have contact for weeks. They later reunited and started playing again in Pete Best's mom's club called the Casbah Club and were later offered to perform again in 1961 in Hamburg. When coming back from Hamburg in February, they were offered to perform in an underground club called The Cavern Club. The Cavern Club had been originally a Jazz Club but quickly became a skiffle group club with more groups emerging (The Quarrymen being one of them). The Cavern Club was cramped, hot, and stuffy. Despite these down comings, it became a popular spot for the youth of Liverpool. From the years 1961-1963, the Beatles had made 292 appearances in The Cavern. Their last performance in The Cavern was made on Aug 3, 1963 due to the fact that England was going through its Beatlemania and audiences were becoming too big for this small club.

Their Rise to stardom The Beatles were discovered by Brian Epstein in The Cavern. Brian was a records salesman and became aware of The Beatles when several teenagers would come by his record store asking if he had any records of The Beatles. Brian suddenly becoming curious went to search for them. At this time, John Lennon and Paul McCartney would perform covers as well as original music. It was their original music that caught Brian Epstein by surprise. He offered them to be their manager only if they agreed to change their image and performing style in order to be "parent friendly". They accepted Brian's offer. They were denied into Decca Records but later on, George Martin softened up to the boys and accepted Brian's group into EMI's Parlophone label. When doing their first recording in 1962, there was a complaint about Pete Best's drumming, so he was to be replaced with Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) .

America and the WorldTheir Impact on Modern Music and PerformanceThe End and Solo CareersBy: Darrione S., Nick B., Katrina F., Alla V. "Love Me Do" became the first hit in America backed with "P.S I love you" in 1962. "I Want To Hold Your Hand" became another #1 hit in the US in December of 19631958 early recording of when the Beatles were still the quarrymen. Growing up in post-war Liverpool the members of the Beatles grew up to be teenagers that really loved American Rock n Roll artists like Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry,and Little Richard, as well as other jazz and blues artists. The original person to start a band before the Beatles was John Lennon with some of his school mates; the group was called The Quarrymen. Paul McCartney was added later on because John was impressed with his cover of "20 Flight Rock" and George Harrison was added upon McCartney's recommendation. Paul McCartney and John Lennon would get together to learn songs, as well as write original material. It worked out really well because they "mirrored" each other with their guitars. Not only that, but Paul McCartney and John Lennon had a really close bond that was admirable. They are from Liverpool, England.They started performing (mostly covers) in the mid-1950s in small clubs earning very little. There were various times where they would become heavily discouraged but still continued on.

"When the Beatles were depressed-thinking the group was going nowhere, and this is a shitty deal, and we're in a shitty dressing room-I'd say, 'Where are we going, fellas?' And they'd go, 'To the top, Johnny!' And I'd say, 'Where's that fellas?' and they'd say, 'To the toppermost of the poppermost!' and I'd say, 'Right!' Then we'd all sort of cheer up." - John LennonDiscography (Studio albums)There really is no one answer to what broke up The Beatles. There are several ideas to what broke them but the most obvious one would have to be that they simply just just got tired of being The Beatles and drifted off into different directions in music since each Beatle had their own ideas and couldn't really work together anymore. They became tired of being idols and "Puppets" as Paul would later say. Their concerts became so loud they couldnt hear themselves play!Please Please Me (1963)With the Beatles (1963)Meet the Beatles (1963)Twist and Shout (1963)A Hard Day's Night (1964)The Beatles For Sale (1964)Beatles VI (1964)Help! (1965)Rubber Soul (1965)Yesterday and Today (1966)Revolver (1966)Sgt. Pepper's lonely Heart's Club Band (1967)Magical Mystery Tour (1967)The Beatles (1968) (Aka the White Album)Yellow Submarine (1969)Abbey Road (1969)Let It Be (1970)What was it about them that made them special? They combined various traits of American Popular music, with a catchy lineup of two guitars, bass guitar, and drums. They presented a personality that represented the youth of the 60's. They grew their hair out. They showed their personality as young boys with their indifference to criticism in public. They were themselves and that is a part of why people admired them so much. They were each so different but such good friends. Shea Stadium- Aug 15, 1965. This was the biggest show that they have ever done with an audience of 55,600 people and it was also their last. Changes Over TimeLike many other groups, the Beatles went through various changes, but what was special about the Beatles was how they developed as musicians. They had changed their music styles very drastically from their early love ballads in the early 1960's to a psychedelic like tune by the mid 60's. This was pretty good for 4 guys that couldn't read music. Their changes were largely due to their usage of drugs and strong influence in other forms of music, an example being George Harrison's deep influence in Indian music. The "White album" recordings took the longest to complete because by this point, the Beatles were basically working on their own songs with each Beatle having different ideas in mind. Ringo and George at some point quit several times during recordings due to lack of input.As solo artists, the Beatle that continued to be successful was Paul McCartney. John until his death advocated for world peace and composed his own songs and was even involved with his wife's band called The Plastic Ono Band. Eric Clapton became involved with this odd music. The Beatles' first concert in the US was at the Washington Coliseum on Feb 10th 1964 after performing on the Ed Sullivan show 2 days before in New York. The Ed Sullivan Show- This one of the most important elements to the Beatles's success in America because of how popular television had become. They were booked to perform three consecutive Sundays in Feburary of 1963 and again in 1964 for one last timeThe Beatles merged the concept of music performances that had been done in their films HELP! and A Hard Day's Night and created short stand-alone films in order to avoid going on television and to avoid having to tour. Their first video was Paperback writer released in 1966.Their struggles and frustrations while touring was the push towards better touring equipment for future musicians. Their T.V appearances further amplified the power of television.Their first movie, A Hard Day's Night (directed by Richard Lester), opened in America in August; it grossed $1.3 million in its first week.In the American music industry, however, there was an initial hesitancy about the Beatles, as some record executives and DJs, especially in 1963, didn’t think that British acts generally would do well in America. That perspective would soon change.

17 Dec 1963Radio disc jockey Carroll James at Washington. D.C. station WWDC, plays rare U.K. copy of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” on the radio after 15-year-old girl from Silver Spring, MD wrote to him requesting Beatles music after seeing the CBS-news segment. James arranged to have an airline stewardess buy a U.K. copy of the Beatles’ latest single in London. Listeners phone in repeatedly to request the song.